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Wife as a potential hiking buddy

My wife has actually said she might, potentially, be interested in, perhaps, backpacking with me if I can set her up with a hammock system.

She is in super good condition, but she is petite. She can run 15 miles at a time, but she only weighs 106#. We hiked Cloud's Rest in Yosemite in a single day this summer and she did great. But the thought of carrying a bunch of weight was a "no-go" in the conversation.

She also has zero interest in sleeping on the ground. Too "old", have to pee four times at night, too many rocks, too cold, etc... Frankly, these are my complaints too, but I'm not letting on....

I asked, "what if you could carry way less than #20 and sleep off the ground in a hammock?" She looked at me like I had a lobster on my heat..

She's used the Wally World Hammocks that take just more than breaking wind to tip you over in. I explained that there are hammocks on the market now with bug screens, tarps, and then I started talking about underquilts and overquilts and I think I almost saw a tear in her eye.

She did make the statement; "so I have to find a place to camp with two trees exactly the right distance apart?" Well, I have a bit of the same trepidation. But I'm reading and watching and talking and trying to get over it.....

I even mentioned the Clark Vertex built for two and she didn't completely brush me off. This is a huge inroad!!!

So I guess I'm just sharing my awesome good fortune, bragging about my awesome wife, and asking for any input as to ways to make this a quicker and easier transition... The boys are late teenage and have just less than zero interest in hiking with the parents, so it is just the two of us for the foreseeable future.

Awesome! I'm trying to win my wife over right now, too. I've got her to love camping, we're both working on hiking kind of together. However, she doesn't like the idea of a hammock because we wouldn't be side by side... haha!

I may try to sell her on stacking two hammocks over each other, though.

Congrats! It sounds like you're about to spend a lot of money on ultralight equipment... lol

Awesome! I'm trying to win my wife over right now, too. I've got her to love camping, we're both working on hiking kind of together. However, she doesn't like the idea of a hammock because we wouldn't be side by side... haha!

That is awesome!! Having her love camping, and preferring to be side by side is an amazing combination. You are a lucky guy!!

Originally Posted by OrangePeel

I may try to sell her on stacking two hammocks over each other, though.

Let me know how that goes. Who gets top bunk??

Originally Posted by OrangePeel

Congrats! It sounds like you're about to spend a lot of money on ultralight equipment... lol

Ughhh... Yeah, that's the downside. Fortunately there is some potential overtime in my future. The trick is to NOT spend it before I have it. That being said, I'd spend anything to be able to get us to "HANG" out together on days off in the woods for the next 40 years. That would be one of those "priceless" quote thingies...

That is way cool. My wife and I love backpacking together. For our 15 year anniversary we did a weekend backpacking trip. Great time experiencing things together and memories created. Especially without any kids for the weekend.

Yeah buddy... My wife and I got certified together in college. The first page of the PADI book read; "Diving is an equipment intensive activity".
Ya THINK??!?!?!

We dove together in Northern California for about 10 years. About six years in I discovered we were spending our time in what was known as the "Red Triangle"... Look it up on Google... Anyway, I didn't let her know.

She gave up diving after the first son was born and I gave up tanks altogether in favor of freediving. I kept that up for about four years until life just got in the way. Also, it just wasn't as fun without my original dive buddy...

Ultralightweight backpacking is less gear intensive, but no less expensive, than diving. Plus it's WAY safer, and I might have a hiking buddy!! Did I mention

That is way cool. My wife and I love backpacking together. For our 15 year anniversary we did a weekend backpacking trip. Great time experiencing things together and memories created. Especially without any kids for the weekend.

Wow, that is really neat. I like hearing experiences like this. People talk about going on European vacations or to uber-expensive resorts and all that. But for me, there are so many cool things to see in the continental US that it's a shame not to take advantage of them.
The, relatively, few times I've stepped off the beaten path I've had awesome, and dare I say life chaning, experiences, have inspired me to focus on trips like that rather than going to the standard, worn out touristy spots.
Maybe I'll not only develop a lifelong hiking buddy, but ALSO figure a way to save jillions of dollars in vacation expenses...

We also got certified in college. The school we went to is in the middle of TN (literally the geographic center of TN is on campus... haha!) and it has the 2nd largest SCUBA program in the nation! We actually had 15 weeks (yes, weeks ) of training for open water, which was awesome. It makes for a lot of pool time and a lot more familiarity with the equipment. They're a NAUI shop, though. My wife doesn't enjoy it quite as much as I do, but I've been able to do a lot more diving than she has and she's still working into it a bit... most of the dives she's had have been a bit stressed, so I'm hoping to get her some more bottom time before we do another Key's trip.